[Every week, GamerBytes.com editor Ryan Langley. will be summing up the top 10 news tidbits from the past 7 days, including brand new game announcements and scoops through the world of Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network and WiiWare.]

Bionic Commando Rearmed? Pah! The real news this week is that the "secret best game ever" Death Tank is making its way from the Sega Saturn to the Xbox Live Arcade. While some may simply brush it off as "nothing but a clone of Scorched Earth", it is much more than that.

Unlike Scorched Earth or Worms, Death Tank was entirely real-time. Grab 7 of your mates, a stack of controllers and a Sega Saturn Multitap and you'll have bullets, nukes, rolling mines and air strikes flying over your head. It was the Geometry Wars of its time, and is still a blast to play with a bunch of friends. Death Tank! Ready for action? I certainly am.

Xbox Live Arcade

OH #%!& SON, IT'S 'DEATH TANK' FOR XBOX LIVE ARCADE
You have absolutely no idea how happy I am that finally, after 10 years of being the best multiplayer experience on the SEGA Saturn, that Death Tank is making its way onto the Xbox Live Arcade.

Sierra Online Still Publishing 'Zombie Wranglers'
While everything at Sierra appears to be crumbling under the weight of Activision Blizzard, it appears that they will still be releasing some new titles - 'Zombie Wranglers' is being released by Sierra on XBLA.

'Castle Crashers' Priced - Tons Of Fun For Only 1200 Points
The Behemoth have finally announced a final price for their game Castle Crashers. After rumors of the game being 1600 or even 1800 Microsoft Points, they've settled for a little less.

What You Should Be Looking Forward To In The XNA Game Community
Destructoid have gotten their hands on the Microsoft XNA developer kit and had a look around what is currently available for play in the Xbox XNA Community games, and have made a list of 5 titles you should definitely be interested in being a part of.

This Week On XBLA - 'Bionic Commando Rearmed' and 'Fable II Pub Games'
Bionic Commando Rearmed will finally be making its way to the Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network this week. In addition to this, those who are looking forward to Fable II will be able to buy Fable II Pub Games as well.

New Trailer Of 'Multiwinia' From 'Darwinia+'
While not exactly the Xbox Live Arcade version of Darwinia+, Introversion have released a trailer for Multiwinia, the multiplayer version of Darwinia being released onto PCs, and supposedly one half of the XBLA title.

'Mega Man 9' Achievements Revealed, Not For The Faint Of Heart
The achievements for the upcoming Mega Man 9 have been released. Good luck getting them.

PlayStation Network

'Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars' Announced For PSN
Psyonix Studios today announced Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, an arena-based online vehicle sports game for PlayStation Network. Psyonix have actually got quite a history - they've been contractors for some of the last few games by Epic Games - including Gears of War and UT 2004 and Unreal Tournament III.

PlayStation LifeStyle Interview Doublesix Games On 'Burn Zombie Burn' and 'Underfire'
PlayStation LifeStyle have tracked down Jim Mummery, creative director of Doublesix games to discuss what their current plans for games on the PlayStation Network. Notably their two leaked titles Burn Zombie Burn and Underfire.

WiiWare

Wii Store Update - Cool Games For Attractive People
After a few delays, it's finally here - you can now buy the first episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People Episode 1 - Homestar Ruiner for 1,000 Wii Points on the Wii Shop.

1UP.com review by Anthony Gallegos - B+

Team Xbox review by Andy Eddy - 7.2 / 10

Eurogamer.net review by Dan Whitehead - 7.0 / 10

IGN.com review by Hilary Goldstein - 7.0 / 10

GameSpot review by Austin Light - 6.5 / 10

OXM Magazine review by Ryan McCaffrey - 6.0 / 10

Wired.com review by Jean Snow - 6.0 / 10

GamePro Arcade review by Terry Terrones - Fun Factor - 3.0 / 5

1942: Joint Strike has been fairing much better in the reviews than Commando 3 did (though personally, I love them both). It's straight up classic top down shooty shooty fun.

I've seen some people have a whine about the fact that there isn't any sort of "auto shoot" ability - these people never played the original games. 1942 isn't some crazy bullet-hell shooter (though it sometimes appears to be), it is absolutely possible to just press shoot over and over and not get hand cramps.

People have been complaining that it's too short as well. Do they remember classic arcade titles? Those things could be pushed over in half an hour if you had enough coins with you. It's a moot point in my opinion.

I've been enjoying it a lot - though I certainly need to get better at it. I'm still trying to beat it on normal difficulty - those last couple of bosses are very difficult, and the helicopters are frustrating as hell.

More podcasts have gone XBLA and PSN crazy, with Bionic Commando just released there are plenty of people on podcasts playing it and talking about it. Here's what I've been listening to:

08/14/2008 | Retronauts Episode 47

Jeremy Parish, Scott Sharkey and David Ellis achieve something once believed impossible: Talk for an hour about Bionic Commando without a single "swingers" joke. (They do bag on midgets and Nazis, though.) B-side feature: ActRaiser.

Player One Podcast Ep.95: Modem with a sore throat

This week on the Player One Podcast -- Bionic Commando Rearmed, Bangai-O Spirits, Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People: Episode 1, Star Parodier, Geometry Wars 2, SimCity Creator, Harry Potter, Braid and Super Monkey Ball iPhone. Plus, RoboDyack.

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.

Major Nelson Show #289: Braid, Bionic Commando Rearmed and the Summer of Arcade

This week’s show: Co-host : e Xbox News Interview: Jonathan Blow, Developer - Braid (12:46–37:01) Interview: Ben Judd, Producer - Bionic Commando Rearmed (37:03–57:34) Summer of Arcade Name the Game Much more…

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed

While Codeglue are working on the Wii version of De Blob, the original PC creators are working on a brand new Wii project - Swords & Soldiers for WiiWare.

"Swords & Soldiers is a side scrolling real time strategy game, in which three distinct factions battle for the powers of the gods. The game will feature a single player campaign and a competitive split screen multiplayer mode as well as several other game modes. Three screenshots are included with this press release.
Akker: “We always dreamed of designing an RTS and when Wii Ware came out we immediately figured that this was our chance.”

Swords & Soldiers will be the first competitive strategy game on Wii Ware and is scheduled for European, Australian and American release in Q4 2008."

Right now it's looking VERY interesting. It's like Defend Your Castle meets Patapon with the style of Castle Crashers, and all three of those have some big fans. Hopefully some videos pop up soon.

It appears that the monkeys running about at the European PlayStation Network store were able to find that "release Capcom games on the same day as America" lever and pulled it down hard - Bionic Commanod Rearmed is now available on the Euro PSN!

It didn't come out in the initial update, but instead a day afterwards. Go grab it or the demo now for £6.99 / €9.99.

Source: PS3Fanboy - Bionic Commando Rearmed available now on the EU PSN Store

French achievements website Succès Full have updated their achievement lists with a brand new set - for long time coming game War World.

Previously the game had some achievements released beforehand, via X360A, however the list was early, and mentioned 15 achievements with 243 Gamerscore instead of the normal 12 achievements with 200 Gamerscore. They also did not find images to go along with each achievement, while Succès Full do.

A few months ago I was also able to contact Third Wave Games, the developers for the game to see if it was still in production. They replied swiftly:

"Yeah War World has been a bit delayed. It is really tough squeezing so much graphics into the 150MB limit we have. Everything in the game is fully normal mapped and looks as good as a retail game so it has been a struggle to get it all squeezed in. But we did it. It is now up to Microsoft and Ubisoft exactly when it will be released."

So the game is actually complete - it's now up to Ubisoft to actually release it. It was slated for release last August. Maybe one day it will get out of limbo.

Source: Succès Full (registration required)

One WiiWare addition this week - Midnight Pool by GameLoft. A regular Snooker / Pool game for two players with Wii motion controls. Not something super exciting, but a decent addition to the list. Better than having to buy a Pool game at retail honestly, and the Wii Play version is horribly limited.

Along with that are two new Virtual Console additions - Mega Man, which many people have been waiting for, and Neo Turf Masters - supposedly one of the best Golf Sims of the 90's.

This week gives us the next iteration of "Championship Edition" style games from Namco - first Pac Man CE, and now Galaga Legions. It looks like it's going to be just as addictive as the former title - can't wait.

The original Galaga captivated players all over the world, and now ... it's back with Galaga Legions! But this isn't just a boring remake! Featuring table-turning game dynamics, super-slick visuals, and mind-blowingly vast waves of enemies, this is the definitive version of the arcade shooter classic!

* Classic Galaga action redefined: Galaga, the classic top-down arcade shooter released by Namco in 1981, is many fans' favorite arcade game of all time. Now, completely updated and revitalized, Galaga Legions bursts onto the scene with new game dynamics and spectacular graphics.
* Achievements: New achievements are offered for you to conquer. Show the world your old-school Galaga skills are new school enough to beat them!

Click here for screenshots of Galaga Legions

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic

Today 3D Realms have confirmed that the classic Duke Nukem 3D game is coming to Xbox Live Arcade. Not only that, but it's finished.

Duke 3D has passed certification in its first go - so it's all done and dusted, waiting for release. Along with their announcement, the latest Official Xbox Magazine in the US has a preview of the game - and say it "may" come out in September.

The magazine also confirms 8 player Cooperative play, recordable gameplay clips, Xbox Vision support, as well as the ability to rewind time in single player mode. It's quite a full experience they've come up with.

Source: Shacknews, XBLArcade

On today's 1UP FM Podcast, Nick and Phil were able to interview the fellows at NinjaBee, who were behind classic XBLA titles Outpost Kaloki X, Cloning Clyde, and Band of Bugs about their new title A Kingdom For Keflings - a building simulator of sorts.

08/18/2008 | 1UP FM - Podcast NinjaBee stop by to talk about their new XBLA game and indie development, Matt Leone plays Dead Rising on Wii and tells us all about it, we hit the Top 5 Worst Famicom Games and check the Mailbag, and the Psychonauts Backlog -- seemingly -- wraps up.

Download the podcast here or join the RSS feed.

Unfortunately they do not discuss their other game - Dorito's Dash of Destruction. It would be interesting to know how that's going, if it is at all, and would have tied well into the short "Best game based on a food product" segment too.

WiiWare World review by Alex Knox - 6.0 / 10

Gamepro Arcade review by Ian Guss - Fun Factor 2.0 / 5

Nintendo World Report review by Zachary Miller - 4.0 / 10

Wii IGN.com review by Daemon Hatfield - 3.7 / 10

Major League Eating already has some very limited appeal - a game about eating? Either way, reviews have been pretty low on the title, claiming that it is fairly ugly by WiiWare standards, and that it's also have fairly unresponsive controls. With a short and fairly unrewarding single player campaign it's a difficult game to recommend.

Crunchtime games have released a new video for their upcoming title Shred Nebula. In this video, they discuss two of the eight kinds of ships you can battle with in multiplayer mode.

The game comes out on September 3rd, so expect a bunch more videos discussing ships and game mechanics.

Source: Gametrailers - Shred Nebula - Developer Walkthrough: Multiplayer HD

Despite the game essentially being done back when Team Xbox previewed, publisher D3 have finally gotten a firm release date for Rocket Bowl on Xbox Live Arcade - September.

In the future bowling balls will, in all likelihood, be powered by rockets, and RocketBowl takes full advantage of that technology. Rocket-powered balls can boost, jump and turn in mid-air to help players knock down the pins in the 10 courses available in the game. In addition to a traditional bowling alley, RocketBowl features 9 zany courses filled with ramps, tunnels, loops, hills, curves and more.

This will be D3's first release since last year's Puzzle Quest, and they will also be releasing Galactrix some time next year. Read the whole preview below.

Source: IGN - RocketBowl Rolling Toward XBLA

With the recent release of Fable II Pub Games it seems that Microsoft are pretty happy with these new kind of pre-order shenanigans. The next game up is Banjo Kazooie - Nuts & Bolts, which will give you a code to get the original Banjo Kazooie for free on Xbox Live Arcade - and a couple of weeks early to boot.

Ready your spring-loaded propeller boat and fasten your seatbelt, “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” is hitting U.S. store shelves on November 14, and pre-orders begin today. For the retail price of $39.99, those who pre-order at participating retailers will get in on all the Banjo fun right off the starting line, and as a special bonus, will also receive a free download code for the original “Banjo-Kazooie,” launching on Xbox LIVE Arcade later this fall.

As Kazooie likes to say, “The early bird gets the worm.” Since the original “Banjo-Kazooie” will not debut on Xbox LIVE Arcade until a couple weeks after “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” releases, pre-ordering the game gives you a two-week head start on the Arcade title and the opportunity to take advantage of “Stop N’ Swop” before anyone else. “Stop N’ Swop” rewards players’ accomplishments in the new game with extra content and features in the Xbox LIVE Arcade game, giving fans who pre-order “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” the chance to experience more Banjo action than ever.

It is a little confusing though - By preordering BK: N&B, you get a free download code for BK XBLA. People who preorder will get a "two-week head start" on playing BK XBLA, but it also states that BK will come out "a couple of weeks after" N&B.

Since "couple" refers to "two" it effectively means that the official release date for BK on XBLA should the 26th of November, and people who preorder the game should be able to download the game on the 12th of November - two days before the release of N&B.

Who knows if this theory will actually ring true. It seems a little bizarre to release the game so close to the other one - you would think the better idea would be to release the XBLA game sometime in November in order to get some more hype going for it. Either way, this is a fantastic deal, as N&B will be released for the low price of $39.99US on day one.

Galaga Legions™

Developer: NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
Publisher: NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
Genre: Coin-Op Classics
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Availability: Everywhere

Click here for screenshots of Galaga Legions

Click here for the official Xbox.com splash page

Click here for the official NeoGAF forum topic

Destructoid have gotten their hands on the full version of Castle Crashers, and to celebrate they've uploaded 15 minutes worth of the game just for you. Remember, it comes out next week.

Source: Destructoid: Exclusive: The first 15 minutes of The Behemoth's Castle Crashers

An update for the Independent PSN title Novastrike will be coming out soon, adding an awful lot of new mechanics and features, including:

- Trophies – you’ll now be able to unlock sixteen trophies (12 bronze and 4 silver)
- Fully Customizable Controls – you can now map weapon selection for the primary and secondary weapons to different buttons and remap other control options.
- Player ship(the Scythe) is a bit larger in size - but don’t worry, we made sure that it didn’t make the game harder (as the collision model is a bit larger as well)
- There are now four difficulty modes: RECRUIT, SOLDIER, VETERAN and HARDCORE. RECRUIT was the initial difficulty, the other three are new.
- Restart Stage option has been added to ingame options menu – if you’re not liking how you’re playing on a stage you can now open the ingame options menu, select Restart Stage, then start the stage over (versus having to quit out and continue)

It's nice to see that Tiki Games are taking a similar approach to the game that Housemarque did with Super Stardust HD. Currently there is no date for the update. They are also hoping to bring the game to Europe as well.

Read the rest of the new features below.

Source: PlayStation Blog - NOVASTRIKE Update Brings Trophies and More

It popped up onto the German rating system website a couple of weeks ago, and now we have confirmation - Savage Moon is a PSN title, and a Tower Defense tactical game as well!

PS3Fanboy have picked up several new images of the game, though all we've got about the game is a small blurb in the general PSN press release:

"Classic tower strategy gameplay heads into outer space in Savage Moon™, as players attempt to protect an isolated planetary outpost from rampaging hordes of gigantic, ravenous space bugs. Position your towers in the best position possible to beat the bugs and convert your victory points into weapons that suit your preferred tactics. Classic strategy gaming meets interstellar gameplay with endless strategic possibilities – can you beat the bugs and save the moon?"

Looks good, but will it stack up to PixelJunk Eden in terms of playability and fun? Actually, a good comparison might be between Savage Moon and the upcoming Defense Grid for Xbox Live Arcade, which are both Tower Defense style games which also seem to be going for a similar style.

Source: PS3Fanboy - Bug-filled PSN game, Savage Moon, revealed

Well this certainly is a surprise. Not many people have ever played the original GTI Club for arcades - but the game has now been revived, and announced for the PlayStation Network.

The original GTI Club game was made by Konami back in 1996, and was a "free roaming" racing game, similar in style to Burnout Paradise. You drive Mini Coopers and other such cars around the track in order to win the race. There was also a battle mode available too, where you had to bump into each other to "hot potato" a Bomb around before it explodes.

GTI Club+ retains the open element of the original, but has been totally reworked in every aspect. Running at 720p at 60fps, the new game has all the modes of its arcade forebear, but takes the race online, allowing up to eight people to compete simultaneously.

The new game has been overseen by Konami’s European Product Planning department and developed by SUMO Digital Entertainment, and has been designed to boast all the content and add-ons expected of a next gen title. GTI Club+ brings the arcade game bang up to date with incredible visuals and speed, with the option to customise the various cars with bespoke paint jobs and decals. The original game’s four cars have also been expanded with a number of vintage and modern vehicles added to the roster.

In game, GTI Club+ also utilises a rear-view mirror for the in-car view, and a Sat Nav system to help traverse the open nature of the huge courses. Dizzying replays of key action, 5.1 sound including a remix of the coin-op’s music by Atjazz, and player-to-player voice comms also add to the camaraderie as players compete against each other. The game is also compatible with Sony’s Eye Toy HD, allowing users to see their rivals as they play.

With a full set of modes, including Free Run, Arcade and Bomb Tag, GTI Club+ sets a new standard for downloadable titles. Die-hard racers can test their mettle via worldwide rankings, while Konami is committed to expanding the game via regular downloads.

It's a great idea, and I'm glad Sumo Digital are behind it - they've previously ported Outrun 2 to several systems. At least it'll be better than Frogger 2 or Coffeetime Crosswords on Xbox Live Arcade.

Top Arcade Titles (Full Versions)
1 BC:Rearmed
2 Fable II Pub Games
3 Braid
4 Geometry Wars Evolved²
5 UNO
6 1942: Joint Strike
7 DOOM
8 SOULCALIBUR
9 N+
10 Worms

With the addition of Bionic Commando Rearmed and Fable II Pub Games, the top downloads seem to be pushing all those regular buys right out of the Top 10. But for how long?

BC: Rearmed steps up as the most bought game this week, followed by Fable II Pub Games, however that would also include the people who got it free with their pre-order. Oddly enough, Pub Games got into the total top 10 games this week as well, yet BC: Rearmed did not - so more people probably tried the demo of Pub Games as well as got it for free.

Last week we got a video of Multiwinia's Deathmatch mode, and this week we get a sneak peak at the King Of The Hill variation.

Hopefully we'll get more information about the Xbox Live Arcade version soon - these videos are based on the PC version, but are one half of the full Darwinia+ experience.

It's been a while coming, but Vigilante 8 is in the last throes of development - Microsoft certification, to be exact. While Activision's testers have rigorously gone through the game and combed through it - it's now up to Microsoft to make sure everything is in order, including the TRC / TCR / TRG tests - which make sure you're following strict guidelines.

Ever wonder why, when every PlayStation 2 game mentions the memory card, it's written as "Memory Card (8MB) (for PlayStation®2)"? That's why - only the equivalent for Xbox 360, obviously. Can't release a game without that.

"Having watched the game undergo numerous TRG sweeps at Activision QA over the past three months, we are confident it’s in a very solid state by now. We’re anticipating one re-submission at the most to obtain certification, but unfortunately there are no guarantees. Remember, a release date cannot be secured until the game is approved."

Along with the update, there's also the full achievement list for the game. One achievement asks you to collect all 100 'Alien Artifacts' in the level to unlock a secret craft. Sounds like Y the Alien will be making a reappearance.

Source: V8Arcade.com - Vigilante 8 Achievements.

Big Blue Bubble have announced that they will be bringing Hockey Allstar Shootout to WiiWare.

Use the Wii Remote™ as your stick and take the shot as you compete in 3 exciting hockey skills competitions. Whether you’re competing solo or challenging your friends, Hockey Allstar Shootout will put your hockey skills to the test.

Shoot the lights out in Sharp Shooter by breaking all 4 targets as quick as you can. Think you have a booming slap shot? Prove it in the Power Shot hardest shot challenge. And last but not least, it’s just you versus the best goalies in the world in the Head to Head 5 puck shootout!

So not a Hockey game per say - instead it is is a few Hockey based mini games strung together. As a WiiSports-esque minigame collection it doesn't sound so bad - it's certainly not going to be in Wii Sports Resort that's for sure.

Source: Big Blue Bubble - Hockey Allstar Shootout is coming to WiiWare!

This week brings PlayStation 3 owners the chance to buy Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty, a small chunk of new game for people waiting for a new full fledged Ratchet game.

People in North America can buy it for $15US, and Europeans can grab it for £9.99 / €14.99. For some reason it did not show up in the PlayStation Store in Australia, but from what we've heard it's being worked on and coming soon.

North Americans can also grab a demo of The Last Guy, as well as download new trailers for it as well as two new PAIN ones. Europeans can grab a ton of the new trailers that have been shown during the Leipzig Game Convention.

Eurogamer.net review by Dan Whitehead - 6.0 / 10

WiiWare World review by Marcel Van Duyn - 5.0 / 10

Wii IGN review by Craig Harris - 4.7 / 10

Pirates was an unknown before release. Let's be honest - that's the gist of most WiiWare releases. The reviews have been very average, mostly due to a very linear single player mode which doesn't appear to have much of a payoff in the end. The Multiplayer is apparently fun, but not enough to be worth your ten bucks.

A ton of new trailers have shown up on the European PlayStation Store today with the Leipzig Game Convention in full roar right now. The above montage footage was included, which has just a small piece of footage for the just announced Savage Moon game coming to PSN, along with other favourites like Fat Princess and Wipeout HD.

A ton of new trailers for other PlayStation Network titles have popped up as well, and Gametrailers has you covered:

PAIN - GC 2008: Clown Toss Trailer HD

Pain - GC 2008: Hot 'n Cold Trailer HD

Warhawk - GC 2008: Operation Fallen Star Trailer HD

PlayStation Network - GC 2008: PSN Showcase HD

Wipeout HD - GC 2008: Trailer HD

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty - GC 2008: New Adventure Trailer HD

Sister website Gamasutra has strapped down the Creative Director at GRIN Simon Viklund and got him to answer some questions about how their Bionic Commando project came about, and get behind the scenes on what and why things were changed on going from the original Bionic Commando to the Rearmed version.

As creative director, you made some changes in the remake -- what was your process like in deciding what to modify and what to keep?

SV: Well, once they approached me within the company and they said, "OK, how do you feel about being the creative director on Rearmed?" I started immediately to think about what I would change in the game. So, I had a pretty good picture. I knew immediately that I wanted the bosses to require you to use the arm. [Instead of having] a huge sprite that you can shoot anywhere, you'd need to find a weak spot on it -- more classic boss gameplay like that.

Read the entire interview below.

Source: Gamasutra - Interview: GRIN's Viklund On Rearming Capcom's Bionic Commando